DESE Update: July 19th, 2019

1. Note about July Local Education Aid Payments:

Due to the delay in the passage of the final FY20 state budget, the Department of Revenue has announced that it will make the July cherry sheet payments and assessments based on the amounts in the Governor’s House 1 budget proposal submitted in January. This affects Chapter 70 aid as well as charter tuition payments and reimbursements. Charter school amounts, in particular, may be significantly higher or lower when the final budget is enacted, so districts and charter schools are cautioned not to rely on the July payments as they finalize their district and school spending plans. As soon as there is a final state budget, DESE will provide districts with final Chapter 70 amounts and updated charter tuition estimates. The August cherry sheet payments will be adjusted to reflect any over- or under-payment in July.

Picture of the Week:
This year, DESE awarded $615,000 in grants to 19 summer learning programs across the state, including programs like this one at Courageous Sailing in Charlestown. On July 12, Commissioner Riley joined Boston Superintendent Brenda Cassellius and others at the pier to celebrate 10 years of the summer learning partnership between Boston Public Schools and Boston & Beyond. Also at the event, the National Summer Learning Association gave Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member Margaret McKenna their first Summer Learning Champion Award.

Sailboats line up along a dock. The closest has its sail up, and a student in a lifejacket is standing beside it. Farther off, sailboats with students and instructors have departed from the dock.

3. District Reviewers Sought:

The Department’s Office of District Reviews and Monitoring is seeking district reviewers! The office is committed to building a racially and culturally diverse reviewer pool. They are particularly seeking education experts who:

  • Have knowledge of effective practices to address implicit bias, equity, and racial equity;
  • Have experience working in urban districts/schools; and
  • Are current practitioners (i.e., employed by a district/school within the past two years).

Review team members are assigned to teams of four to six people to collaboratively analyze a district’s systems and practices using DESE’s District Standards and Indicators.The CommBuys bid is posted online and will be open until July 23 and again from July 29–August 16. More information about the district reviewer role, including rates and time commitment, is provided in Attachment A, which is posted with the other bid documents. Anyone with questions can email Laura Richane.

4. Professional Development Provider Registry Application:

On July 22, DESE will post the 2019 Summer Professional Development Provider Registry application for those interested in becoming approved and added to DESE’s online registry of 300 approved professional development providers. The link will be posted on the DESE Resources and Tools for PD Providers web page.

The Department welcomes a variety of providers, including professional organizations, non-public schools, not-for-profit organizations, private and for-profit organizations, individuals, educational partnerships, corporations, educational agencies, and associations whose PD programs demonstrate characteristics of the Massachusetts Standards for High Quality Professional Development. The application window will be open from July 22 through September 20. The application will also serve those who would like to renew an expired or soon-to-expire approval (approvals expire after three years), as well as approved providers who would like to add new content area offerings.

NOTE: The following entities are automatic professional development providers and are not required to register: public school districts, charter schools, educational collaboratives, accredited colleges/universities awarding credits or continuing education units (CEUs), and professional organizations that are approved by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training to award CEUs.

Although no applications will be reviewed until the window closes on September 20, applications will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. The Department anticipates that the next application period will be in later winter/early spring of 2020. Anyone with questions can email profdev@doe.mass.edu.

5. Competitive FY20 Safe and Supportive Schools Grant:

The fiscal year 2019-2020 (FY20) Safe and Supportive Schools Competitive Grant Program (Fund Code 335), funded through state line item 7061-9612, is now accepting proposals. The grant’s primary goals are to support districts’ efforts to create safe and supportive school environments and to coordinate student support initiatives informed by districts’ use of the Safe and Supportive Schools Framework and Self-Assessment Tool.There are two grant options this year: action planning (for schools to self-reflect and create action plans), and school-based implementation and mentorship/support (for schools implementing action plans and mentoring others to do so, too).Applications are due Friday, August 16. The Department has scheduled two webinars, one on July 22 and the other on August 6, to share information and address questions about this grant and its application process. Registration for the webinars is open online.